What are agents?

  • 4 minutes

An agent is an AI assistant configured for a particular scenario. Its instructions define its purpose and behavior, and its knowledge sources provide information for its responses. Some agents also include actions that connect to other systems or automate business processes.

Types of agents

Microsoft and its partners provide prebuilt agents for common scenarios. Organizations can also create agents by using no-code, low-code, or pro-code tools.

Agents created in SharePoint

Agents in SharePoint are declarative agents that use SharePoint sites, pages, and document libraries as knowledge sources. They help users find information, summarize content, and answer questions. Their responses respect each user's permissions to the source content.

Each SharePoint site includes a ready-made agent scoped to that site. A site owner can select another agent as the main agent for the site. Users with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license and permission to add files to the site can create additional agents and scope them to selected sites, folders, and files.

SharePoint stores each created agent as an .agent file. As with other files, permissions on the agent file control who can access or edit it.

Declarative agents

Declarative agents use the orchestrator and foundation models provided by Copilot. Their configuration can include:

  • Instructions that define the agent's purpose, tone, and response behavior.
  • Knowledge from sources such as SharePoint, OneDrive, uploaded files, and Microsoft 365 Copilot connectors.
  • Actions that connect to APIs or workflows when the authoring tool and configuration support them.

Business users can create declarative agents with Agent Builder in Microsoft Copilot, SharePoint, or Microsoft Copilot Studio. Developers can also create them with Microsoft 365 Agents Toolkit. The available knowledge sources and actions depend on the authoring tool, license, and organizational policies.

Custom engine agents

Custom engine agents use custom orchestration and can use custom models, business logic, and integrations. They suit scenarios that require complex workflows, proactive behavior, or availability outside Microsoft 365. Organizations can build them with Copilot Studio or pro-code tools and host them in Microsoft 365 or external services, depending on the design.

Agents in Microsoft Copilot Chat

Microsoft Copilot Chat provides secure AI chat for eligible Microsoft 365 users. Users can access available agents in Copilot Chat and invoke them for focused tasks. Agent Builder in Microsoft Copilot provides a no-code experience for defining an agent's instructions and knowledge.

Agents don't all have the same capabilities. A knowledge-focused agent can answer questions and summarize its configured sources, but it doesn't automatically assign tasks, send notifications, or change records. Those scenarios require configured actions, workflows, or a custom engine agent.

Example: Create focused SharePoint knowledge

A sales manager needs a pitch that compares two Contoso camera models. The ready-made agent for the marketing site contains information about the newer model but not the older one. The manager creates an agent that uses the permitted SharePoint sources for both products and the research team's site.

When the manager asks the new agent to compare the products, it can reason over the selected sources and cite relevant content. Other users receive responses only from source content that they have permission to access.